[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 192 (Tuesday, October 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61511-61512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25038]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement:
Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska OCS Region, Chukchi Sea Planning Area,
Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
(BOEMRE), Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and
Enforcement (BOEMRE) is giving notice of its intent to publish a
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area,
Alaska. This Supplementary EIS will provide new analysis in response to
a remand by the United States District Court for the District of
Alaska.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to Deborah
Cranswick, Chief, Environmental Analysis Section I, Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, Alaska OCS Region, 3801
Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5820.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Cranswick, 907-334-5267.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Authority: The NOI is published pursuant to the regulations (40
CFR 1508.22(b)) implementing the provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
(NEPA).
2. Purpose of Notice of Intent: Pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR
1508.22) implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, the BOEMRE is
announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental EIS for OCS Oil and Gas
Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area, Alaska. The
Supplemental EIS will supplement the analysis from the Lease Sale 193
Final EIS (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2007-0026) by: (1) Analyzing the
environmental impact of natural gas development; (2) determining
whether missing information identified by BOEMRE is relevant or
essential to the decisionmaking under 40 CFR 1502.22; and (3)
determining whether the cost of obtaining the missing information is
exorbitant, or the means of obtaining the information is unknown. The
Final EIS for Sale 193 evaluated the potential effects of the proposed
sale and three
[[Page 61512]]
alternatives, which included no action and two configurations to defer
areas from leasing along the coast adjacent to the proposed sale area.
The Final EIS evaluated the potential effects of exploration seismic
surveying and drilling; oil development, production, and
transportation; and accidental crude oil spills.
3. Scoping: In accordance with 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4), there will be
no scoping conducted for this SEIS. The scope of the Final EIS for Sale
193 and the remand by the United States District Court for the District
of Alaska establish the scope for this SEIS. A Notice of Availability
of the draft Supplemental EIS for public review and comment will be
announced: (1) In the Federal Register by BOEMRE and the Environmental
Protection Agency; (2) on the BOEMRE, Alaska OCS Region, homepage; and
(3) in the local media. Public hearings will be held following release
of the Draft Supplemental EIS. Dates and locations will be determined
and published at a later date.
4. Cooperating Agencies: The DOI policy is to invite other Federal
agencies, and State, Tribal, and local governments to consider becoming
cooperating agencies in the preparation of an EIS. Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations state that qualified agencies
and governments are those with ``jurisdiction by law or special
expertise.'' Potential cooperating agencies should consider their
authority and capacity to assume the responsibilities of a cooperating
agency. Cooperating agency status neither enlarges nor diminishes the
final decisionmaking authority of any agency involved in the NEPA
process. The BOEMRE invites qualified government entities to inquire
about cooperating agency status for this Supplemental EIS. Upon
request, the BOEMRE will provide qualified cooperating agencies with a
written summary of ground rules for cooperating agencies, including
time schedules and critical action dates, milestones, responsibilities,
scope and detail of cooperating agencies' contributions, and handling
of pre-decisional information. The BOEMRE anticipates this summary will
form the basis for a Memorandum of Understanding between the BOEMRE and
each cooperating agency. You should also consider the CEQ's ``Factors
for Determining Cooperating Agency Status.'' This document is available
on the CEQ Web site at: http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/cooperating/cooperatingagencymemofactors.html. Even if your organization is not a
cooperating agency, you will have an opportunity to provide information
and comments to BOEMRE during the comment phase of the NEPA/EIS
process. Additional information may be found at the following Web site:
http://alaska.boemre.gov.
Dated: September 28, 2010.
Robert P. LaBelle,
Acting Associate Director for Offshore Energy and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-25038 Filed 10-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P